River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-06-09
TRIALS OF MATRINIONY.


afternoon after the servant problem
had been extensively discussed
and the husbands had come up for de-
bate, Il wonder why?"
But no one yentured To explain.
Probably at that instant each lady
present was engrossed in taking mental
account Of her own husbands CHIEF
falling and thinking what peculiarly
! grievOus one it was, and how much
less trylngm comparison otherhusbands
faults were .Are all husbands the
same?" continued the speaker, bent
on a solution.
SOMEBODY affirmed that they were,
and there was a general murmur OF
assent.
at is positive fact, said another
lady, ''that the average man is more
eager for ilattery and praise than any
woman ever born, traditional opinion
northumberland that being the
case, cannot understand why that
same average man is so slow, as he is. to
give either fiattery or praise to his wife.
! remember when / was young
| lady (and ! dare say it is the same to-
day the girls liked best to 20 out with
those gentlemen who seemed to appre-
ciate what they had on. 1t gave us i
happy sense of having pleased some
body, and we used to think that lit
tie notice of that sort was worth all
the pains we took to do our escorts
credit. Finally | married one of those
young men, because he seemed so APP
preciative of every little thing Il did
and | blissflIlly imagined that my life
was going to be one delightful system
of reciprocity, of effort and praise; but
alas! it soon grew to be an every day
affair, and | might work myself tC
death now and he would take it a,
matter of course. just the way
with me, exclaimed another. -
went into the kitchen the other day tC
make something particularly nice, anC
when it came on the table my husband
actually never said a word OF cours,
| was disappointed, and when l re
preached him for his indifference h,
declared that the proof of the pudding
was in the eating. and the fact that h,
was eating mine ought to be gratifica
ton enough. | remarked that / pre-
ferred ather more explicit praise, and
then he calmly replied that he couldn't
see why. | might rest assured he
would have mentioned it if it had not
been good, And yet if that man sC
much as drives nail he expects the
whole family to turn out and approve
his work. y
Il know the lovliest man." sighed
one. HE notices every little new
thing about the house. and is as pleased
as boy over it, and if his wife gets q
new bonnet or any
That is pretty one You have on
yourself, interrupted somebody.
'Do you think SOP" with an angry
CLEAN in her eye. "Well, I'll tell YOU
about that bonnet. | thought would
be very economical this spring and sur
prise my husband, so | went down and
bought the bare bonnet for seventy-fivt
cents; then | took the trimming off OF
an old hat, rearranged it, bought new
ties, and appeared in my new home
made bonnet Easter morning. | start
ed to church rejecting that virtue sure
/ " is its own reward and that [ never
/ looked better in my life. Well will You
| believe me? Henry never noticed it,
aud if silence is any evidence he isn't
aware to this day, but am still wear
ing my old winter felt.
just try him on another, my dear,
advised plump matron. with a big
bill attachment. He'll net fail to no
tice that bonnet. I'll warrant.
do any of YOU. inquired a young
wife. ''recollect reading a paragraph
not long ago in newspaper about a
wife who was trying on a new false
bang, and who declared with tears when
her husband, instead of compliment
ing her, growled over the bill that her
one aim in life was to make herself at
tractive in his eyes9 What wife hasn't
/ tried that scheme, Now, is there one
of you who believes for an instant that
that husband apologized with embraces
and contriUion, as the paragraph stated?
don't. 1t read very prettily, but
what he probably actually did do was to
inform the weeping madam that she
would look much better to him if her
bills were smaller"
| Q'.Praise certainly is very sweet, =
unused an older lady. ..and costs 50 lit
tie that it seems strange it is not in freeF
| circulation. The whole world stands
ready and willing to tell US Of our
faults, while our nearest and dearest
forget or neglect 10 commend our vir-
tues. In one light, though. perhaps it
3 :. 1 L. 1 T.
cover or realize the Importance of this
weak point of ours. They could keep
US so subiugateG and pliable that we
should become mere dumb factors in the
world, bending all our faculties in the
one direction of our husbands COM
forts. Mrs. A, here, would be-
found over the cook-stOve from dawn
till dark. and Mrs. would wear
/ homemade bonnets the remainder of
her days.
1--WE would be willing to, protested
Mrs. A and Mrs. L in a breath.
''for the sake of approval"
1T seems to me, observed the only
member of the group who had not pre-
viously spoken, chat yuu all expect too
much of your husbands Very few men
are capable of taking in domestic de-
tails, and I've often noticed those WAC do
are generally making themselves pretty
disagreeable. Aost men probably APP
preciate, even if silent, their wives, ef-
forts, and IN their own way testify
their appreciation. For my part praise
i all well enough, but / would rather
forego some Of 1t than to have a man
too observing. think it would be the
most satisfactory thing possible to have
yourself and house always well appoint
ed withou your husmand knowing in
the least how It had been brought
about. 1t strikes me you are all very
short sighted in not seeing that there is
a charm in the unrevealed.'
Then the married contingent cried
in seornful chorus. ..Yes, there is-for
spinstersl'' and rose in a body and
crushed the iuckiess damseI. for she was
only an old maid and could not posi-
bly, know anything about the matter.